Travel

The iffy meal that could fix your food poisoning

Jun 05, 2017

Image: Ceviche. By Yogma/via Wikimedia Commons

There’s nothing worse than getting sick while travelling, especially with something as horrid as gastro. You suddenly find yourself missing home because you don’t have the comforts of your own bed and a familiar doctor to visit. There’s no miracle fix for gastro, although antibiotics are a good bet, but could a seemingly risky food be something that helps?

One traveller recounted their trip to Mexico where they were stuck with food poisoning and were sick for five days. On the fifth day, they ate the local dish ceviche – a seafood dish cooked by fermenting in lime juice. The traveller reported feeling remarkably better after the meal – one that many would consider an iffy choice.

Food is fermented by natural bacteria feeding on the sugar and starch in food, creating lactic acid in the process. This preserves the food and creates different strains of probiotics in the process.

Probiotics are naturally occurring in our digestive system and help maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria. When we have gastro, this good bacteria can be reduced, but will generally repopulate by itself in time. It’s said if you eat foods full of probiotics, it can speed up the process.

Starts at 60’s go-to doctor, Dr Matt Young, says there’s certainly some evidence to say probiotics are good for you, but is sceptical about the benefits in this situation.

“If it worked for [that person] it has a 100 per cent success rate for them,” he joked.

“I always recommend going to your GP for antibiotics before you go to third world countries especially, and write out a plan with your doctor about what to do if you get sick overseas.

“There’s nothing worse than having to get trains and planes and buses when you’re sick as a dog.”

That’s one thing we know for sure.